Gage Academy of Art Ateliers

Gage Academy of Art

At e l i e rs

Gage Ateliers This booklet showcases artwork over the past several years from the students of the Atelier programs at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle.

The full-time Gage Ateliers, founded in 2004, provide aspiring artists the opportunity to work and study in a stimulating, communal environment under the guidance of a master teaching artist whose studio is also on the premises. Students in the Gage Ateliers receive their own dedicated workspace and may take advantage of the full resources of the larger academy, including daily open studio model sessions, art library, sculpting studios and other classes, and evening lecture series that cover art history and art techniques. Over the course of the academic year, Gage Atelier students also participate in several school-wide exhibitions and public art events.

The main entrance requirement to the Gage Ateliers are students’ motivation to learn, and their willingness to undertake a long-term commitment of one to four years to their own artistic development.

Admission to Gage Ateliers is competitive, with students coming from across the country to study with instructors Juliette Aristides or Mark Kang-O’Higgins. Unlike most arts schools, an advanced portfolio is not crucial, as Gage Atelier instructors are looking for self-discipline and personal tenacity as critical traits required to sustain their intensive studies at Gage.

Front cover, clockwise from upper left: Maria Olano, Joshua Langstaff, Jethaniel Peterka, Susan Bari Price, John Rizzotto.

Left to right: Gage Academy of Art is located in a scenic neighborhood on Capitol Hill in Seattle that overlooks Lake Union and is near the Seattle Asian Art Museum and Volunteer Park. A view of the Rosen Gallery where exhibitions frequently feature Gage Atelier artwork.

Left to Right: Drawing and Painting Atelier student Pamela Robinson shows her work to visitors. Cast drawing is an important element of Gage Atelier training. A look inside one of the Drawing and Painting Atelier studios. Classical Atelier student Tenaya Sims works in his studio.

The key to the success of the Gage Ateliers is the extended opportunity they provide the students to study intensively with one artist over a significant period of time, something not available in the conventional art school format. Atelier participation involves an average of 30 hours a week, 35 weeks a year, over multiple years. Upon completion of their studies, Atelier graduates are prepared to exhibit, teach or earn an advanced degree, and they do.

The artwork produced by Atelier students is as varied as the Ateliers themselves.

Students in the Classical Atelier follow a highly structured 19th century beaux-arts program of drawing and painting from observation. Beginning students, working in charcoal, draw from the model as well as copy casts and master drawings. Intermediate students paint in grisaille, then graduate to a limited palette while pursing figurative studies and personal work. Advanced students paint with a full palette on their own individuated projects. Their refined works reflect their intensive studies of the effect of light on form, and their ability to achieve a poetic mood in describing the figure model as well as straightforward studio subjects.

Classical Atelier graduates have followed a variety of stylistic paths upon

leaving the program (and they are encouraged to), and their work draws on the rigor of their training.

Students in the Drawing and Painting Atelier, who also work from the figure model daily, complete a truncated academic program before beginning their own work, which is distinctly personal in style and consciously narrative in content. Their drawings and paintings reflect an engagement with contemporary issues like identity and dislocation while still being as attentive to craft as their Classical Atelier counterparts. The Drawing and Painting Atelier student works are often both confrontational and compelling. Students from this program have historically been the most likely to pursue advanced degrees.

The Gage Ateliers occupy a unique middle ground between what is typically offered at accredited four-year colleges, and what is normally available at community-based adult education programs. Borrowing the best elements from both of these models, Gage offers motivated students the opportunity for full-time, non-accredited study that is as rewarding as it is demanding. The artwork you see here is the best possible argument for the aesthetic and practical value of these unique studio programs.

Juliette Aristides

C l a s s i ca l A t e l i e r

Juliette Aristides Juliette Aristides has led the Classical Atelier at Gage Academy of Art since 1999. She is the author of Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice and Classical Painting Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice, and is working on a new book on drawing along with a documentary DVD to be published by WatsonGuptill, NY. Aristides frequently contributes to The Artist’s Magazine and has had her work featured in national and international magazines such as American Art Collector and Gulf Connoisseur Magazine. She also teaches workshops across the United States and has shown her work in numerous solo shows and dozens of group shows nationally.

Aristides has acquired a rigorous education on the principles of classical realism. She began her studies in the studio of Myron Barnstone, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, then at The Atelier in Minneapolis in the tradition of Richard Lack. This work was followed by two years of instruction at the National Academy in New York with Jacob Collins, while also receiving instruction from Carlos Madrid. Aristides spent a year working with a small group of students at Jacob Collins’ studio prior to becoming a founding member of the Water Street Studio in Brooklyn, New York. View more of her work at www.aristidesarts.com.

Above: Bendheim Remembrance, oil on canvas, 34" x 72".

Opposite from top: J’s Red Shirt, oil on panel; Drawing of Jeremy, oil on panel, 26" x 22"; Sutherland 4: Resting, charcoal on paper, 15.5" x 21"; Red Fire Flowers, oil on panel, 10" x 8".

Left: Susan Bari Price, Van Dyck Perfecto, oil on canvas, 13" x 9".

Right: Yumiko Dorsey, At the Enchantments.

Opposite: Elizabeth Zanzinger, Zak, oil on linen, 14" x 9".

Left: Brett Downey, oil on panel, 14" x 12".

Right: Dan Monda, Black Coffee, oil on panel.

Left: Joshua Langstaff, Captive, oil on panel, 24" x 18".

Right: Norma Bergquist, Lawrence in the Light, oil on canvas, 14" x 11".

Above: Maria Olano, Sarah.

Opposite top: Walker Hall, Skull, oil on panel, 20" x 28".

Opposite bottom: Elizabeth Zanzinger, Inertia, oil on linen, 17" x 22".

mark kang-o’higgins

D r aw i n g & pa i n t i n g At e l i e r

Mark Kang-O’Higgins Mark Kang-O’Higgins has led the Drawing and Painting Atelier at Gage Academy of Art since 2004. He has taught his contemporary approach to fine art at several schools and academies including the Leith School of Art in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy in New York, and Digipen in Seattle.

He has shown his work in many exhibitions in Seattle and New York at such galleries as the Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Linda Hodges Gallery and Fountainhead Gallery.

His striking work has also appeared in publications and is included in collections such as at the Nordic Heritage Museum.

Kang-O’Higgins earned his BFA at Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland and then went on to receive an MFA at the New York Academy of Art where he received the Most Promising International Student Award in 2003.

Above: Woman & Child, oil on canvas, 36" x 48".

Opposite from top: Genesis 1, charcoal on paper, 24" x 18"; Kilrickle, oil on board, 24" x 36"; Emma, graphite, 36" x 24"; Time, oil on canvas, 72" x 48".

Above: Kyle Abernethy, Veneration, charcoal on paper, 48" x 36".

Opposite: Tracy Banaszynski, Turning Inward, charcoal on paper, 55" x 33".

Left: Nora Langan, Balancing Rabbit — Self-Portrait, charcoal, 28.5" x 19.5".

Right: Deborah Scott, Stalemate, oil on canvas, 60" x 36".

Above: Curtis McDowell, Brooklyn and 45th, graphite on paper, 11" x 14".

Above: Pamela Robinson, Green Baby — Iron Doll Mold VII, oil and acrylic on wood panel, 14" x 14".

Opposite: Jethaniel Peterka, Medicine, oil on panel, 24" x 18".

About Gage Gage offers a variety of programs for adults and youth of all ages and abilities. Founded in 1989, the cornerstones of the school are drawing, painting and sculpting and all spring from the realist tradition of art making, which stresses creating from observation. Thus, Gage offers many programs in drawing, painting and sculpting from the nude or draped model, from still-life subjects and from the landscape.

All of the educational programs at Gage are open enrollment, meaning students can choose for themselves what to take based on their own interests and considerations.

However, Gage offers two, more formal ways, to chart a course of study at the school. The Foundation Drawing and Painting Programs allow students to follow a set series of classes to build their skills and earn a Foundation Certificate, while the Gage Ateliers are an intensive studio program for the serious artist in training.

Top to bottom: Artistic Director, Gary Faigin and Executive Director, Pamela Belyea, founders of Gage Academy of Art. A view from the Geo Studio of nearby Lake Union.

The Geo Studio, a spacious studio for Gage artists. A look inside the Raab Studio, home of the Drawing and Painting Atelier.

G ag e M i ssi on Guided by the belief that artists are made, not born, Gage strives to educate, enrich and engage artists and the community in the visual arts.

Gage offers instruction in the principles of drawing, painting and sculpting and is dedicated to helping students of all ages and skill levels realize themselves as artists in contemporary society.

Gage Academy of Art is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. GAGEŽ is the federally registered service mark of Gage Academy of Art. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced without permission of Gage Academy of Art. Š2010 Gage Academy of Art. All Rights Reserved.